Ken Wharfe tore into the owner of the Mercedes S-2380 who planned to put the car in a US museum.

After Jean-Francois Musa said he would take the wreckage back to Paris as a “mark of respect” to Princess Diana, but Mr Wharfe said the plans were “distasteful”.

Mr Wharfe added: “There seems to be no thought for her family who would find this incredibly upsetting that the sick ghouls would be visiting this disturbing piece of history.”

And auctioneer, John Markey of H&H Classics, labelled the idea as “downright disgusting”.

He said: “I condemn it in the strongest terms.

“I suppose there is a market for anything but no respecting auctioneer would go near an item like this, it’s a sick sideshow.

“I don’t personally believe it should be given a value, but it could be worth one, two, even 10 million or maybe more depending on who bought it. It’s worth what anyone is willing to pay for it and there’s a market for everything.”

Diana died in the vehicle alongside Dodi Fayed when drunk driver Henri Paul crashed the vehicle in a Parisian tunnel.

The Mercedes has been in a police lock-up in London since 2005 for tests.

Mr Mura owned the Etoile Limousines company which provided the Paris Ritz with vehicles – the place where she was picked up from that fatal evening on August 31.

Mr Mura told the Mirror: “The car is still legally mine, but I haven’t seen it for almost 20 years.

“People in places like America are very keen on these type of cars. The Mercedes is a piece of history which could be used to recall a terrible tragedy.

“The British should just hand the car back.”

The 58-year-old claims he does not want to sell the car for profit, but auctioneers say it could fetch £10million.

A British inquest blamed paparazzi photographers, who tailed the car in a high speed chase, and driver Henri Paul, who was speeding and over the drink-driving limit, for the crash.

And the inquest overruled inquiries that said the crash was an accident, as it ruled the deaths were a result of unlawful killing.

But it seems the car may have also played a part in the incident – although investigations led by ex-Met Police boss Lord Stevens found there were no problems with the vehicle.

His report said: “Both the French and British examinations of the Mercedes have shown that there were no mechanical issues with the car that could have in any way caused or contributed to the crash.”